Amtrak Board of Directors elects new chairman, vice chairman

The Amtrak Board of Directors elected Anthony Coscia to be its next chairman and elected Jeffrey Moreland as vice chairman.

An Amtrak board member since June 2010 and current chairman of its Audit and Finance committee, Coscia succeeds departing board chairman Thomas Carper, whose term on the board expires at the end of March 2013.

"I am confident Tony and Jeff will provide effective leadership, continue what is working while promoting new initiatives and work closely with President and CEO Joe Boardman to further transform Amtrak so it better delivers on its national mission to provide connectivity and mobility across the country," Carper said.

"It is an honor to serve as Amtrak's next chairman and I thank the Obama administration and many members from both houses of Congress whose support for Amtrak has been invaluable," Coscia said. "As chairman, I am committed to increasing ridership, strengthening Amtrak's operational performance and improving its financial position. During the many years that I have been involved in infrastructure and especially over my past three years on Amtrak's board, I have come to recognize that passenger rail is vital to America's economic growth and to addressing our nation's growing need for mobility and connectivity."

Jeffrey Moreland also has been an Amtrak board member since June 2010 and is the chairman of its Government Affairs and Legal and Corporate Affairs committee. He succeeds Nancy Naples as vice chairman.

"I look forward to continuing to work with Tony, the other board members and Joe Boardman and his management team. I believe all of us working together will allow Amtrak to continue to make progress in achieving our goals," said Moreland.